Together Again For The First Time
by Booster1
Summary: A Girl and Her Time Lord 2 : The Doctor and his new companions a one-time ex-mystical key, a seven foot tall lizard and a vole don't quite arrive where they were aiming for.
1. He Shoots, He Misses Again

**Title:** Together Again For The First Time

**Setting:** Post-season 4 for Ten, way after Chosen for Dawn.

**Disclaimer:** They're not mine. They're not Morag's either.

**Summary: **The Doctor and his new companions (a one-time ex-mystical key, a seven foot tall lizard and a vole) don't quite arrive where they were aiming for.

**Author's Notes:** Written by myself and Morag MacPherson cliffhanger style, desperately trying to stump each other. Second in the_ A Girl and Her Time Lord_ series.

* * *

**Part 1 – He Shoots, He Misses (Again).**  
**(By Booster) **

"….No, really, you'll love Martha! She's a great doctor and one of my favourite people. Plus, she doesn't get phased easily which'll come in handy with you," the Doctor exclaimed, stepping out of the TARDIS door.

His face fell as he glanced around the dark metal corridor they were in. Dawn Summers, one-time meta-physical concept in human teenager form and now owner of a brand new Time Lord circulatory system, charged after him. "Oi!" she yelled, "What do you mean, 'come in handy'?"

The Doctor had pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and was busy using the light on it to examine a nearby panel. "Mmm?" he said absently, "Oh, I just meant that after travelling with me for a while, she's used to the utterly bizarre."

"Wait, did you just insult me or yourself?" Dawn said with a confused look on her face. She looked around at their landing spot for the first time. "And this doesn't look very twenty-first century London or wherever you said we were off to."

"UNIT Headquarters."

"Whatever. You're the one who set the controls this time."

"Well, maybe this time you should go and check the internal settings before leaving the TARDIS." The Doctor grunted as the faceplate of the panel came off in his hands, and he slowly lowered it to the floor. "Interesting," he said, shining the light from the sonic screwdriver over the workings inside, "Looks like a mixture of both high tech components and low quality connections."

Dawn had wandered over to the opposite wall and studied the large blank wall panel in front of her. "So not your errand-girl here. Talk to the lizard, cos I don't care. You're saying this place is a kludge of stuff thrown together? Like the TARDIS?"

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow in her general direction. "That's not very kind. The TARDIS was not designed by a mad committee with all the design flair of a blind Gastropollitan Molusc." Popping his glasses on, he peered closely at the circuitry. "Early 26th Century at a guess, or some point after that," he said, resisting a sneer.

He wandered back to the TARDIS door, and stuck his head inside. The seven foot tall lizard inside with a black cowboy hat on looked up from the chair he was happily settled on. "Ith there a problem, Doctor?" he lisped.

"Not entirely sure, Clark," the Doctor said thoughtfully, "What does the console say our destination is again?"

Clark put down the book he was reading, and stretched his neck somewhat until he could see the correct panel on the TARDIS console. "Theptember thixth, two thouthsand and nine, London."

Out in the corridor, Dawn's eyes narrowed as she spotted a lever next to the large panel. "Well, the time bit is definitely all wrong then."

She stepped forward and pulled the lever down. There was a loud grating noise, and the panel rose up, exposing a viewscreen behind it, its light spilling out into the dark corridor illuminating everything. Outside was a busy sight. Across the starry expanse floated several planets, a couple of large space stations and quite a number of tiny spaceships moving slowly through space. One soared majestically past them, close enough for Dawn to read the name on the front prow: Top Banana.

"Call it a hunch, but probably not UNIT headquarters either then?"


	2. Unsettling Developments

**Part 2 – Unsettling Developments**  
**(By Morag MacPherson) **

An intercom buzzed on with a sequence of two notes that were at just the interval that made Dawn feel queasy. "Bluth Company welcomes you to its model module for the Sea of Tranquility Orbital Community. Please feel free to make yourself at home." The recording sounded suspiciously like a man trying to sound like a woman. Dawn looked around, leaning on the handle of the lever, which almost immediately broke off, sending her sprawling onto the ground.

"Shoddy construction," she muttered.

The Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS door. "You grunted and now you're on the floor."

"Aren't you just the observant one today?"

The Doctor clucked his tongue. "Sarcasm is so predictable. So, seeing as the TARDIS' time circuit appears to be completely buggered, I'm going to have to scrounge up a replacement part." He offered her a hand up. "Any ideas on where we are?"

Again, the intercom buzzed on. "Bluth Company welcomes you to its model module for the Sea of Tranquility Orbital Community. Please feel free to make yourself at home."

Dawn pointed up. "What the shemale said."

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. "Bluth Company?"

"Apparently," said Dawn.

"Oh, jolly good, that means there's a frozen banana stand somewhere hereabouts. Not to mention that nobody will notice us scavenging for parts, bits are always falling off the Bluth modules. Clark, come on, we're going exploring!"

"Are we sure thith ith a good idea, Doctor?" Clark appeared in the threshold of the TARDIS, sans cowboy hat.

"Exploration's always a good idea, my scaly friend."

Dawn shook her head. "Except for the bit where we got clapped in irons and oh-my-god-I'm-even-starting-to-talk-like-you." She stomped her foot and the Doctor and Clark spun around to see her standing there with her hands on her hips. "Why the British accent? You're an alien. Why can't you have a normal accent that I won't pick up like an orally transmitted disease?"

The Doctor shrugged. "People find this accent to be innocuous. Plus, all the girls like it."

"It'th true, the girlsh alwaysh love the Doctor'th voice," added Offler.

Dawn rubbed her eyes. "Fine then. So what are we looking for?"

The Doctor started walking again. "Oh, you know."

"No, I don't," said Dawn, slowly, like she was talking to a small child.

"Yes. You. Do," mimicked the Doctor. "Look in the back of your head."

"What the heck – oh, we need three meters of aluminum tubing, ten meters of copper wiring, a Klining resonating crystal, and a magnet." She paused. "And a frozen banana."

"Actually, I just want the banana," replied the Doctor. This time, Dawn tackled him.

"Why? How. Did. I. Know. That?" she intoned, shaking his lapels as she perched on top of him.

"You're a Time Lord. There's a bit of a psychic connection between all of us, and by that, I mean the two of us, and the TARDIS. Some information is up for grabs for anyone who cares to look."

Dawn let his lapels drop and leaned back. "You're going to answer my next question, and I'd better like the answer."

The Doctor blinked. "Okay."

"You can't see my memories of sophomore year, can you?"

"Not unless you want me to."

Dawn hopped back up. "Fine. Don't go poking around in my head."

The Doctor returned to his feet rather more stiffly. "Well, now that that's settled – wherever did Clark go?"


	3. Never Go Shopping With a Summers Girl

**Part 3 – Never Go Shopping With a Summers Girl**  
**(By Booster) **

"Thanks for going back and getting Emort, Clark" said Dawn happily, clutching her pet vole. His new, somewhat upgraded, travel sphere fit comfortably in her arm as they walked through the space station concourse.

The seven foot tall lizard in their party was drawing most of the looks from the crowd of people around them, but that was mainly due to Clark's height more than anything. Clark shrugged. "Ath it wath a thpace thtation rather than your backwardth planet, I figured if I could come along for the trip, tho could Emort."

"It's not totally backwards! Well, not everywhere. You'd fit in fine around my sister's area, they've got lots of non-humanoids lurking around there."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow as they carried on though the crowded market. "Excuse me, sir," he muttered, squeezing around a large Judoon striding through the lanes of shoppers. "Sounds rather enlightened for the twenty-first century. Oooo! Lets try that stall over there."

Dawn rolled her eyes and angled towards the stall in question. "You so need to get out of Britain more. Try America for a change. Live a little."

"No thanks," the Doctor said quickly, "Last time I was in San Fransisco, I almost left my hearts behind. Not to mention being convinced I was half human for some time." He turned to the stallkeeper and indicated the array of parts laid out before him. "Any chance of a Klining resonating crystal and some copper wiring?"

Dawn sighed. Another stall some distance away caught her eye. "Just going over there for a look, kay?"

Distracted, the Doctor nodded. Clark, already laden down with the aluminum tubing, smiled. "Thhouldn't take uth too long, Dawn." Dawn grinned as she and Emort headed over to the new stall. Clark's wide grin, exposing all those teeth of his, was turning out to be quite the negotiating tool when actually purchasing stuff. Almost like a ten percent discount card.

She slowed down as she approached the stall, all its jewellery and bangles laid out in rows. "Ooo, _shiny_!" she whispered. She stood before it, and stared around. One piece, a green mineral polished and set in a gold ring seemed to call to her. She reached out for it. She slipped it on one finger, and admired it. "A snip at only 450 credits, dear," said the stallholder, correctly recognising the must-have-this look on Dawn's face.

There was a loud explosion, quickly followed by another one. And then a third and a fourth. The deck shook, then tilted, sending Dawn staggering to the side. Then the floor buckled and collapsed.

Dawn fell, along with most of the one side of the market. The sudden jar as they hit the next floor underneath took her feet out from under her. Then the next floor groaned and also collapsed. "Shoddy construction," she gasped, desperately trying to hang onto Emort. She looked upwards, and her eyes widened as a large section of wreckage fell straight towards her.

"Oh, f--!"

Back in the market, alert sirens were going off everywhere, and an automated sprinkler system had kicked in, trying to douse a couple of fires that had already sprung up. The Doctor and Clark tried to make their way through the stampeding crowd to where Dawn had been. Clark's smile was gone, but his sharp, pointed teeth cleared as much of a route for them as possible.

"I can still feel here, in the back of my head, Clark," the Doctor yelled over the pandemonium, "She's still alive somewhere."

"We'll find her, Doctor," grunted Clark, and redoubled his efforts.

They arrived at the edge of the gigantic hole in the deck, and gazed down. At least ten floors had also collapsed, and gone with the remains of the market. The Doctor gazed down, eyes full of repressed fury. "We can't get down this way," he said tightly, "Head back for the liftshafts."

Clark raised one scaly paw upwards. "You hear that, Doctor?"

Above the sirens blaring, the Doctor could make out one other repeating message.

**"Alert! Alert! Station under attack by unknown forces! Proceed to defense stations immediately. Boarding parties are already on board."**

Choking and gasping for air, Dawn pulled herself out of the wreckage, still clutching Emort's travel sphere. Crawling into a nearby corridor that seemed solid and dependable, she finally stopped. Covered in dust, she wearily slumped down against one of the few still standing walls nearby. She could hear a couple of arguing voices drawing near, but just couldn't bring herself to care.

The voices stopped bickering, and Dawn was mildly aware of two people coming over to her. "Hey," one said, gently shaking her shoulder, "You okay, hun?"

"Typical," said the other strangely familiar sounding voice, "Middle of a disaster, and he stops to pick up the pretty girl."

"Ignore my partner," the man said, "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and this is my partner Captain John Hart. Anything we can do to help?"

Dawn's eyes finally focused, and she looked at the man kneeling next to her. Good looking, with a smile that could cause people to go weak at the knees. She looked up at his partner, and her eyes grew wide.

"S..Spike?" she stammered.


	4. Out of Time and Out of Mind

**Part 4 – Out of Time and Out of Mind  
(By Morag MacPherson) **

Jack's smile just grew. "No, that's just a piece of rebar." He helped Dawn up and wrapped a handkerchief around her hand where the steel had punctured it. "So what's a nice young girl like you doing in the middle of a corporate uprising like this?"

"I... was just shopping." Dawn raised her other hand and displayed the ring on it.

John peered at the ring. "Lovely. Berylite and gold. Must be worth over 300 credits."

Dawn coughed. "The shopkeeper asked for 450, but I didn't get a chance to pay for it before the floor gave out."

"Ah, yes, that would be the Oskerians. Long standing family feud between them and the Loosilians that currently control The Bluth Company." Jack pointed down the corridor. "The Oskerians are about to attack the life support systems up on deck 14. It's probably for the best that you fell into our arms." He tugged at her uninjured hand.

"Follow us."

"Who are you? Where are we going?" Dawn was a little nervous about being hustled through a strange space station by these two.

"First tell us why you're carrying a Mbatanossite Prairie Vole around."

"His name is Emort, and he's very friendly."

They turned a corner and John pushed Dawn up against the wall. "He's been extinct for over three hundred years."

"You're sure you're not Spike?"

John's eyebrow quirked. "No, I just have one of those faces. One of those incredibly striking and handsome faces. Never gone by the name of Spike, but I like the sound of it."

Jack snorted. "Sounds like a dog or a male stripper, to me." He raised his hands apologetically. "Sorry, love, but as much as I enjoy playing good-cop or friendly-prison-warden-who-likes-to-help-the-prisoners-shower, John here is even better at playing bad cop. And you're not a local here. So, what's your name, and how did you get here?"

Dawn glared at them both. "My name is Dawn Summers, and I got here in a TARDIS."

John scoffed. "Those have been extinct even longer than your rodent friend. Next thing you're going to tell us that you're a Time Lord."

"I am."

"She is." John froze. Behind him Jack was scanning Dawn with a handheld device. "She's got a binary circulatory system and a psychic field."

John's grip fell away, and Dawn brushed her hair back. "Thank you, Jack. I'm a Time Lady, and my friend the Doctor-who-is-also-a-Time-Lord and his pal Clark the seven-foot lizard are standing right behind you."

Jack and John spun around. Dawn wasn't lying, but she wasn't expecting the Doctor to jump back the way that John did.

"J-Jack," said the Doctor.

Dawn shook her head. "Does he just have one of those faces too?"


	5. Will the Real Jack Please Stand Up?

**Part 5 – Will the Real Jack Please Stand Up?  
(By Booster) **

"Well you obviously seem to know me, and I idefinitely/i like what I'm seeing, but could we concentrate on the important thing here?" Captain Jack Harkness smiled at the group.

The deck shook and rumbled again as tremors spread through the station. "The little matter of the shoddy manufacture and the several storey drop I just went through, by any chance?" said Dawn bitterly. She clutched Emort tightly. "And leave my vole alone!"

"That vole is clearly and distinctly out of its natural time frame!" Jack said hotly. "It shouldn't be here and you know it!"

"Seriously?" said the Doctor disbelievingly. "The station's under attack, the place is built so badly we don't know which part's going to break next, and you're worried about a vole?"

Captain John shrugged. "He gets a little… focused… on the job at times."

"He's not even flirting with her!"

Captain Jack Harkness frowned. "Plenty of time for relaxation after getting the job done. Now, your vole…"

"Oh my god! It's like I don't know him at all!"

"Perhapth we thhould hold thith dithcuthion thomewhere a little more thable," Clark interjected, looking worriedly at the wreckage behind them. "I don't like the way the wallth are creaking."

"Easy for you to say, 'thunthhine'," smirked Captain John, but he still pointed back along the corridor he and Captain Jack had come from. "There's a reinforced section back there that we can regroup in."

The mixed collection of people set off down the corridor, Dawn still tightly hugging Emort's travel sphere tightly to her chest and glaring at Jack. There was a sudden cracking noise and everyone froze.

"Oh, thhit—"

The metal decking buckled and split, sending everyone flying. "Doctor!" bellowed Clark, and threw himself at the Doctor and Captain John knocking them down to the side as a massive collection of wreckage dropped to the deck where they'd been standing.

Dazed, Dawn looked up from her position on the floor and realised she'd dropped Emort's sphere.

"Noooo…" she screamed as she saw the large gaping hole in the now sloping decking, and Emort rolling right towards it at high speed.


	6. In Which We Discover That Clark Has Hidd

**Part 6 - In Which We Discover That Clark Has Hidden Depths  
(by Morag MacPherson) **

Clark snapped into action: his jaw fell down and his prehensile tongue darted out, snagging Emort's travel sphere before it could tumble to his almost certain doom. The tongue retracted slowly, allowing Dawn to gingerly retrieve the vole before he encountered Clark's digestive tract.

Jack spoke first. "Where do you keep all of that?"

Clark simply smiled. "It fitth nithely in my mouth. Not being able to thay the letter eth ith a thmall prithe to pay."

"What else can you do with it?" asked Jack, while the Doctor and John both gave him the same look.

John's head tilted at this. "I guess you do know him. Sorry about that. Being Time Agents, this happens to us on occasion." He extended his hand to the Doctor, who shook it firmly.

"Same thing, being a Time Lord. Gets terribly confusing at cocktail parties."

John nodded. "Of course, I'll have to follow standard procedure now and take Jack to get his memories altered. What do you think we should put in its place?"

"Perhaps something involving an evening with Clark," said the Doctor, as they watched Jack and Clark exchanging single entendres.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't flirt with me, but a seven-foot long lizard..."

John tousled Dawn's hair. "No worries, niblet. It's a seven-foot lizard with a seven-foot tongue. By Jack's standards, you never stood a chance." Then John looked at his own hand like it was an alien.

"Now, that was entirely too natural."

The Doctor shook his head. "We'd better get a move on before both of you wind up with memory wipes." The structure rumbled again.

"Where's this reinforced section?"

"Down on deck 3." John waved a hand behind him. "There's an emergency ladder tube this way, no way am I going to risk the lifts in this place."

"Agreed. Allons-y!"

The little group proceeded down the ladders, Emort's traveling sphere securely wrapped in Clark's prehensile tail this time. The Doctor led the way, with John taking the rear position. Despite the continued rumbles and rattles, their progress down to deck 3 was fairly uneventful.

Finally they reached the reinforced shuttle bay where the Captains' transport awaited them. Visible through the hangar door was the ongoing space battle between the Oskerians and Loosilians. Dawn watched it, completely agog, while Jack and Clark and John and the Doctor continued trading war stories.

After a few minutes, Dawn shouted, "Doctor!"

He turned towards her. "Something wicked this way comes?"

"No." Dawn pointed at an object floating through the battlefield. "But out that way the TARDIS goes."


	7. Gunfight at the OC Hanger Deck

**Part 7 – Gunfight at the OC Hanger Deck  
(By Booster) **

The Doctor's response was short, sweet and to the point. Dawn, who still had her old abilities to learn languages, carefully memorised what she assumed had to be a particularly potent Old Gallifreyian swearword.

"That blue box your transport then, Doc?" smirked Captain John. "Looks like you got yourself a bit of a problem."

"…You sure you haven't got a black leather trenchcoat hanging around in your wardrobe somewhere?" asked Dawn, staring at the very familiar cocky expression on Captain John's face.

"Black leather, yes. Trenchcoat, no. And you have my personal word of honour on that," said Jack briskly, tapping out a series of commands on a nearby control panel. The screen was cracked, but the sounds as Jack navigated the system proved it still worked. "Looks like the valet parked it over in Alpha-Delta-Four. Slight walk, but that'll just give us time to discuss how we're going to swop transport to your box thing for that vole."

Dawn stared at him in disbelief. "Ohmigod! Do you ever stop!?!?"

"No," said the Doctor and Captain John simultaneously, and looked at each other. Clark brightened right up.

A discordant noise issued from the control panel. "That's odd," said Jack thoughtfully, "Some sort of security lockout on the ship? You'd think they'd love to let people evacuate the place when it's like this."

As if in answer, another tremor ran through the decking beneath them. Far off, the sound of debris crashing down echoed.

"We better get moving, whatever you guyth decide in the end," said Clark thoughtfully. "Thith is not going to end well ith you thpend all your time thanding around in here arguing."

The Doctor nodded, and Jack joined him as the group moved off together. Behind them, there was a pleasant chime, and the lift doors opened.

A group of about ten Judoon stepped out, looking even more pissed off than normal. The leader stepped forward, adjusted the datapad in his hand and pointed at the humanoids in front of him. "Bo! Sco! Fo! Do! No! Kro!"

The other nine Judoon nodded, took out their blasters and opened fire.

"Move it!" yelled Jack, dragging Dawn down to the side and quickly behind the edge of a spaceship. The Judoon shots hissed through the space where they'd been only seconds ago. Jack and John both pulled out weapons and started shooting back.

Then the Judoon lowered their heads and **charged**.

"Language Designation : EarthEnglish. Attention Lawbreakers : You Are Under Arrest," boomed the Judoon leader.

Jack flashed Dawn a quick grin as he stuck his head out briefly and got off a few shots towards the Judoon before the replying salvo made him duck back in. "They take shoplifting _really_ seriously here."

"….omigod," whispered Dawn staring guiltily at the ring on her hand, "It's like I'm one all over again. I am so not going to use the W word."

Jack looked at her in what might have been an impressed way. "You were shoplifting when you were one?"

"Less talk, a little more shooting back please," snapped Dawn, as she started looking around for a way out.

Over the other side of the hanger, the Doctor slowly crept around a pile of machinery, trying to get a good view of where everyone else had scattered to. Spotting a ladder, he swiftly climbed to get an overview of the hanger deck.

Aha. There was Jack and Dawn (and probably Emort. The Doctor couldn't see _either_ Jack or Dawn letting the poor vole out of their sight) together over that side. Clark and Captain John were pinned down over by the entrance, but okay.

And that… that was definitely a gun barrel pressed against the side of his head. "Ah."

"Mo! Gro! Lo So!"

The Judoon fired.


	8. Ganging Aft Agley

**Part 8 – Ganging Aft Agley  
(By Morag MacPherson) **

Dawn saw the Doctor crumble to the ground and screamed. More fire came over their makeshift barricade, then ceased.

"Who are these guys?" she whispered.

"Judoon." Jack grinned. "Figures that the Loosilians would hire them to run security. It's just our bad luck that by their standards, you're guilty."

"I didn't shoplift. I fell!"

"You really want to try that with them?" Jack risked another peek. "Huh?"

Dawn grabbed his arm. "What do you mean, 'huh'?"

Jack eased back down. "Well, they blasted your Time Lord friend in the head. About now we should be seeing the legendary Time Lord regeneration light show, but he just appears to be unconscious. They must be using the stun setting."

In fact, the Judoon standing over the Doctor was looking down the barrel of his gun, tapping the stock of it with his hand and cursing. His commander stomped over to him. "Why did you shoot this prisoner?"

"He was guilty of trying to evade Judoon forces. I was attempting to execute him, but the power supply on my blaster seems to be weak. The Loosilians have provided us with inferior armaments."

The commander snorted. "Typical. However, you are guilty of attempted execution without authority." He raised his weapon and shot his underling, who vaporized. "I purchased my own power supply."

Then he turned towards Dawn and Jack. "All unauthorized personnel are to present themselves to the Judoon for processing. Attempting to avoid this will result in a conviction for evading Judoon forces."

Jack cursed. "So, I take it the Judoon don't believe in community service as a punishment," said Dawn.

"Not in general, no. They're big fans of the death penalty. Hey!" Jack grabbed Emort's travel sphere, which had been trying to roll around the barricade in order to surrender to the Judoon.

"Give him to me!" Dawn snatched Emort away from Jack.

"Fine." Jack held his hands up.

Dawn cradled the sphere in her arms. "We're not surrendering. I know what they've got me on, and I don't even want to know what you might be guilty of."

Jack grinned. "Are you sure? I could demonstrate a couple of the more entertaining ones." Dawn groaned, and Jack typed a few keys on the device on his wrist. "Fair enough. No surrender. But it's going to take some doing to get your Doctor friend away from them."

Their eyes locked. "Do you know him?" asked Dawn.

"Not yet." Jack smirked. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not interested. Maybe not quite as interested as I am in your scaly friend, but those skinny ones, well, they can be scrappy."

Meanwhile, John was reading the message Jack had sent. He pulled out a sonic blaster. "Okay, thunthine, we have a plan, but it involves firing an unauthorized weapon in front of the Judoon. You in?"

Clark nodded. "Tho long as you thtop calling me thunthine. What do you need me to do?"


	9. Time To Split

**Part 9 – Time To Split  
(By Booster) **

"We got the guns, you have the upper body strength," Captain John said, carefully taking a look around the edge of their hiding place. He gestured to Clark, "See, your mate the Doctor's up there on that viewpoint station with those two Judoon looming over him. Only, what with all this damage from the firefight, collapsing debris from the other floors and just general bad building—"

"--There'th only one thupport thtructure holding it up now," Clark interrupted.

"Thpot on, me old china," said John, and cheerfully ignored the death glare from Clark. "If Jack and I co-ordinate our fire enough to keep everyone's head down for a moment, reckon you can get across there and take out that beam?"

"And the 'unauthorized weapon' you thaid thomething about earlier?" Clark mused, carefully judging the distance he'd have to sprint across.

Captain John grinned broadly. "Oh, let's just keep that one as a surprise, shall we?"

Clark looked at him, then at the distance again. He nodded firmly. "Let'th do it."

Dawn poked Captain Jack Harkness in the side yet again. "Are they ready yet, huh? Are they ready yet?"

Jack swallowed a curse, and tried slapping her bony finger away for what had to be the fifth or six time. "Stop that!" he hissed.

"Nu-uh," Dawn said mulishly, "When I get nervous, I bug the nearest annoying authority figure, and as my sister isn't here, you're elected."

Jack glared at her, then cocked his head thoughtfully to one side. "Sister, huh? Gotta say I always did like the tall brunette type," he said, his gaze sweeping up and down Dawn's body.

"Ewww, no!" squealed Dawn, "No chance, buster! She's short and blonde, and totally more into older guys." She stopped suddenly and smirked up at Jack.

"What?" Jack said cautiously. Already, he'd learned it was never a good sign when Dawn shut up.

Dawn nodded towards the other side of the hanger deck. "Now, your 'partner' John over there, so totally her type. Guaranteed."

Jack stared at her. "But I have dimples. Dimples! Look at them! How can she resist that? And with John? John?!!?"

A beep sounded from his wrist communicator. "Oh, thank god," Jack moaned, and turned his attention back to getting ready to open fire. Naturally, Dawn took full advantage of the situation to poke him in the ribs again.

"Three! Two! One!" yelled John, and popped up from behind his cover, shooting wildly at the Judoon. Jack quickly also joined in, and the crossfire caused all the Judoon on the hanger floor to dive for shelter.

Clark took a deep breath, and sprinted towards the overview point. Approaching it rapidly, he mentally scanned it for what looked like the weakest point and shoulder-charged it with all his might.

It snapped clear off, and Clark ended up sailing straight on past, now clutching a metal support strut. "What the..?"

Behind him, the Judoon Commander staggered as the platform rocked, and then collapsed, sending him and the unconscious Doctor's body crashing down to the decking. "No! Fo! Bo!" he barked out as he descended. Jumping as gracefully as a rhino in a spacesuit could, he leapt away from the rubble and landed solidly on the hanger floor.

Clark suddenly had a much better idea as to what to do with the metal beam in his hand, and quickly swung it around to catch the Judoon Commander's head. The Judoon stood there, still blinking for a moment, before slowly falling to the ground.

Clark grinned, and dropped the beam. Quickly moving to the rubble, he dragged the Doctor out from underneath it. Suddenly, he noticed it was all quiet around him. No sound of gunfire from either side.

He draped the Doctor over one shoulder and turned around. All the remaining Judoon were now standing around him, guns pointed directly at his body. And no sign whatsoever of Dawn, Jack or John.

"Po! Cro! Lo" barked one Judoon, and wiggled his gun towards the lift door they'd come in on. Clark sighed. Looked like yet another cell he'd be sharing with the Doctor.

Two corridors away, and still running, the others finally came to a stop as they emerged into a storage area, with massive tanks bubbling away beside them. Dawn dragged on Jack's sleeve as they panted and tried to get their breath back. "What's going on? Why did we leave them? Where's Clark and the Doctor?"

"Too… many… Judoon… reinforcements coming up from the other side of the hanger," Captain John said, gasping for air. "Couldn't get everyone out, so settled for the cutest."

There was a sudden trample of feet and several Judoon rushed around the corner.

"Shit!" yelled John and went for his weapon. The Judoon opened fire as well, and yet again, Dawn found herself diving for cover. Both Jack and John shot back, and a gunfight started, both sides hiding behind the storage tanks.

There was a sudden cracking noise from the side of Dawn, and slightly above her. Puzzled, she looked up and saw the storage tank had been hit by several Judoon shots. As the stressed metal creaked, she saw a tiny crack start at the bottom, and then quickly shot upwards across the surface.

"Jack!" she yelled, "The tanks are splittin—"

Too late, as one, then another tank burst under the strain and the stress, spilling it's highly compacted contents into the room. Another tank blew, then another, causing the yellow concentrate to pour out upon them.

The Judoon, being a lot smarter than they looked, took one look and ran to the exit door. Slamming it behind them, the sound of the door being locked was quite clear. As yet more tanks blew, the concentrate started coming up to Dawn's knees. Jack and John, cursing, tried to charge the door down.

"Crap!" muttered John, "The amount of stuff in those tanks…. That'll come to well over our heads!"

By now, the flood was at Dawn's waist and still rising. It smelled…kinda familiar. Dawn picked up a bit on her finger, sniffed it and then tasted it.

"Omigod," yelled Dawn, "Is this--? Am I going to be drowned in banana concentrate?!?!"


	10. Sweetness Follows

**Part 10 – Sweetness Follows  
(By Morag MacPherson) **

The Doctor came to and groggily lifted his head up. "What hit me? Where are we? Who's here?"

Clark waved a hand. "Jutht you and me, Doctor. I think the Time Agentth took off with Dawn, leaving uth behind."

"Huh." The Doctor's tongue darted out. "Why do I taste bananas?"

Clark shrugged. "Dunno, Doctor. You haven't eaten anything thinthe we got here."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I feel like I'm turning into a banana. I can taste it and smell it and even sort of feel it."

"Thearch me. Although the Judoon already thaw to that."

The Doctor felt at his pockets. "Looks like they did with me, although, lucky me, those thick rhinoceri failed to recognize the threat of a sonic screwdriver." He pulled it out. "But seriously – oh bloody hells!"

"What?" Clark stood, his tail flicking anxiously.

"I'm not tasting bananas, Dawn is! It's in the back of my head. Impressive how quick she figured out that trick. They're trapped and in deep, uh, trouble." The Doctor went and pounded the force field of the cell. "Hello! Anyone there?"

A single Judoon trudged into view. "Prisoners are to remain seated in their cells at all times during this emergency situation."

The Doctor winked at Clark while they both sat down. "Really? What's the emergency?"

"Prisoners are not authorized to make such inquiries."

"But why are we prisoners? We just wanted off this module while it was falling apart around our ears." Clark edged closer to the end of the bench during this line of questioning.

The Judoon snorted. "All persons of unknown allegiance are to be incarcerated until the identities of the Oskerian saboteurs are discovered."

"Saboteurs, eh?"

"Correct."

The Doctor scratched his head with the sonic screwdriver. "So all of your squad mates are off rounding up potential saboteurs?"

"Correct."

"Good to know." The Doctor pressed a button on the screwdriver and deactivated the force field. Clark immediately sprang onto their sole guard, who didn't have time to draw his blaster before Clark was on top of him. Both combatants had thick skulls, so Clark's head-butt only slowed the Judoon down. Clark doubled over from a gut-shot the Judoon expertly delivered, but managed to wrap his tail around the guard's ankle. The guard landed on his stomach and Clark managed to pin him down, wrapping one arm around his neck in a sleeper hold. Finally, the Judoon went limp and unconscious, and Clark got to his feet.

Clark pointed to a small safe in the corner. "Can you open it?"

The Doctor nodded and pulsed the sonic screwdriver at the cabinet. It clicked open, and Clark retrieved his gun belt.

"So, Clark, if I hadn't befriended you back at the temple...?"

"I would have had no trouble thubduing you." Clark grinned. "There wath a reathon why they left only the organ player guarding the diamond." He finished cinching the belt into place and put his hat back on. "Let'th go thave Dawn and thothe two cute but treacherouth Time Agentth."

The Doctor blinked. "Right then. We'll need to get back to deck three."

"Allonth-y."

The banana sludge was now up to Dawn's chest, as she thought about it furiously in the Doctor's direction, hoping that he'd come to and could come through. For plan B, she shouted, "Either of you two have any other bright ideas?"

Jack clamped a hand around her mouth. "Shut up," he hissed. "We need the Judoon on the other side of that door to think that we've drowned." Jack stifled a yelp as Dawn bit on his fingers. "Stop that!" He dragged her with him towards a wall with no apparent exits.

Captain John had already waded over there. John gave Dawn a cross look and she immediately settled down. He put a finger to his lips and motioned for John to release her mouth.

"I'm trying to signal our location and situation to the Doctor," whispered Dawn.

John shook his head. "Handy trick, but we're way ahead of you."

Jack still seemed skeptical. "Do you know what's on the other side of this wall, because I don't."

"Calm down sweet cheeks. We're obviously in a storage section, so what's on the other side can't be worse than this."

Dawn cleared her throat, which was currently surrounded by banana concentrate. "Whatever your plan is, could you get it going?" Her arms were growing tired of holding Emort up above the goo.

John nodded and pointed his sonic blaster at the wall. Jack took a firm hold of Dawn's waist. "Don't want you to get swept away."

John fired the blaster, and a square hole appeared in the wall. Unfortunately, the surge of concentrate through it was sufficient to sweep all three of them off of their feet and into the darkness beyond the hole.


	11. The Sour Aftertaste

**Part 11 – The Sour Aftertaste  
(By Booster) **

There was a slight fall of a couple of meters before Jack, John and Dawn all hit the darkness together. And splashed.

"Yuck!" spat Dawn as she pulled herself up from the new liquid they'd just landed in. "Blackcurrant!"

"Mmmmm…" murmured Captain Jack, delicately licking his finger. "Tasty, though not mixing too well with the banana," he said staring up at the hole in the wall above them, now spraying yellow banana concentrate at a steady and ifast/i rate. Already, the liquid around them had risen to waist height and the torrent in showed no signs of abating any time soon.

"This…. could be a problem," Captain John said, staring at a readout on his wrist computer. "Looks like we're right in the middle of all the supply sources, nearly all of which have been ruptured by now."

Dawn looked up from reassuring Emort, "Which means, exactly?"

Jack frowned. "Which means, whichever way we go now, we're only going to get in deeper- -"

"Thhift!" roared Clark as he pushed a particularly truculent filing cabinet in front of the main entrance to the jail. "Move, you little bugger!"

"That should do it for the moment, Clark," said the Doctor absently, resuming his work at the Judoon computer system, "I'm almost in."

"Good," said Clark with satisfaction, and stood back regarding the makeshift barricade he'd just fastened out of the jail's few freestanding fittings. Amazing just how heavy (and reinforced!) those Judoon chairs were. Giving the filing cabinet one last kick, he rejoined the Doctor.

The Time Lord in question was quickly and expertly breaking into and scrolling through every file on the Judoon system he could get access to. "Any luck with Dawn and the otherth yet, Doctor?" rumbled Clark.

"Not yet, but I can still feel her in the back of my head. She's still alive, though I couldn't half murder a blackcurrant dacquiri now." The Doctor stiffened suddenly as he entered a new section of the database. "Aha! Well, at least we can do something about the TARDIS now," he said, fingers flying across the controls.

"Logging the trajectory of the TARDITH, and getting the Judoon to thave it?" Clark said, leaning forward to study the console. "Thmart idea."

"Reporting it as a 'mysterious item worthy of investigation' should be sufficient. They'll bring it in for questioning," grinned the Doctor. He looked at Clark appraisingly, "You're a lot smarter than the average lizard."

Clark grinned back, showing all his teeth. "Mama didn't raithe no dumb cluckth."

"Omigod! Just how stupid are you two?" yelled Dawn, rolling her eyes yet again.

From where all three of them were now perched on top of the remains of one of the blackcurrant storage tanks, the rising tide of the mixed concentrates was still getting nearer and nearer.

Jack shared a look with John. John shrugged after a while, and turned to Dawn. "Listen nib… what is with that, anyway? Why the hell do I want to call you niblet and your lanky mate a complete wanker?"

Jack coughed.

"But I digress," John smoothly carried on, "By any strange chance do you have an idea of how to get us out of this current predicament?"

"'Wanker'" repeated Dawn, as the side of her mouth twitched and she resisted breaking out into a complete laughing fit, "that's so Spike."

Jack coughed again, and nodded down towards the concentrate.

"Oh yeah," Dawn said abashedly, "You guys are idiots."

"You said that already," Captain John couldn't resist pointing out.

"And will doubtless be said again in the future. Anyhow, you two are thinking too two-d. We're surrounded by the other tanks sure, but what's underneath us?"

John looked stunned for a moment, then tapped away on the wrist computer. "Machinery spaces, more storage, mostly empty stuff."

Dawn looked triumphant. "So, the next hole you shoot…."

"….is in the floor!" Captain John said and impulsively hugged her.

Jack coughed yet again. Twice this time. Dawn and John quickly sprung apart, and John pulled out his sonic blaster. Leaning out as far over the edge as he could go, he fired twice at the congealed mass rising towards them.

There was no noticeable change for a moment, then a shudder seemed to run through the concentrate and it slowly began to shrink downwards. A vortex point slowly formed in the centre of the room as the concentrate was sucked away.

"Yes!" Dawn screamed and pumped her fist in delight. "We did it!" she yelled, exchanging a high five with John.

"Just one thing left to do then," said Jack, and punched Emort's travel sphere hard out of Dawn's grip. The sphere flew away over the edge and landed in the flowing concentrate.

"What the fuck?" screamed Dawn and tried to go after Emort, only to be grabbed by Captain Jack.

"And while I'm here," said the Doctor cheerfully, "Let's unlock that security lockout on Jack's ship…"

His face fell, as the console flashed up a new set of related images. "No, no this can't be…"

"Why? WHY?" screamed Dawn as Emort's sphere vanished out of sight.

"Can't have a Mbatanossite Prairie Vole lurking around three hundred years after going extinct, can we? Screws up the timelines severely, doesn't it, John?"

Captain John nodded, and turned to his wrist computer again. "Lockout on the ship's been dropped, more than past time we were gone from here. Mission's done and dusted, and we'll get a bonus for the vole."

"Mission?" Dawn repeated, a horrifying idea growing in her mind.

Jack's grip on her tightened. "Oh yeah," his amused voice sounded hollowly in her ear, "That whole Oskerians/Loosilians scrap should have started three or four weeks back, but an unexpected outbreak of peace messed up the whole local timeline."

"You mean…" Dawn gasped.

"It's what a Time Agent does, luv," smirked John.

The Doctor stared at the computer screen.

There, in front of his eyes, was Captain Jack Harkness and Captain John Hart, both shooting up a Loosilian ship in dock, dressed in Oskerian clothing.

The screen kept flashing a message below the repeating footage. b"Warning : Do not approach. Suspects are armed and extremely dangerous!"/b

"Doctor?" rumbled Clark with concern.

"Time Agents. They did it, Clark," the Doctor said blankly, "They started this whole fight off deliberately, just to do something to protect their precious timeline."

His head suddenly snapped round to Clark. "And now Dawn's alone with them!"


	12. Get By With a Little Help

**Part 12 - Get By With a Little Help  
(By Morag MacPherson) **

Dawn scratched and bit as they dragged her along. "What do you think you're doing with me?"

"Making sure you don't stick around to mess up this time line," said Jack.

"We just have this nagging feeling that we're supposed to keep an eye on you," added John. Jack gave him a cross look. "Well, at least I'm having that feeling. This place is about to fall apart under our feet. As a Time Lady, you count as an endangered species, but unlike your vole, you're not out of time. We'll get you to the safety of our ship."

At that moment, they watched a large piece of bulkhead fell to the ground behind them, so Dawn acceded to this logic for the remainder of the trip back to the hangar deck. As they arrived at the hangar, Dawn wrested her arm away. "You two! You're the ones responsible for this whole thing. You sabotaged the Loosilian ship!"

Jack ignored her, continuing to run to his ship, but John halted.

"The Oskerians had to attack! If they don't gain control of the Bluth Company, you don't want to know the consequences."

Dawn put her hands on her hips. "Try me."

"The Bluth Company will win the contracts for the Tau Ceti colony. Twenty million people, pet. Think about having twenty million innocent civilians in colony modules built like this. It takes them a decade to find all of the bodies."

Dawn faltered. "That... that sort of makes sense."

John put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not because I like war, although the bits with explosions are fun, I'll give you that. The Time Agency only intervenes when the situation is dire. You tell me that we're any different than you Time Lords."

"There's a world of difference!" shouted the Doctor as he and Clark entered, still dripping in mixed concentrate, Emort's travel sphere tucked underneath the Doctor's arms. "Sorry we're late, we had to take a short detour to rescue our pet."

"Emort!" Dawn squealed, but John held her back.

"We did the right thing, Time Lord," said John. "With the Time Lords gone, who else is supposed to monitor the time lines? The Shadow Proclamation? They still employ Judoon."

"Did you have to stop it with a war?" asked Dawn. "Couldn't you have found some other way to take down the company? Like, I dunno, an expose on the shoddy construction in this space module?"

John faltered. "I – uh, but this is how the company is supposed to self-destruct. It's in all the history books!"

Clark shook his head. "Do you really believe everything that you read in the hithtory bookth?"

John looked like he was about to concede when Jack taxied by in their ship. "Sorry John, but you're going to have to find your own way home." With that, the port hole shut and Jack flew off into space.

John turned white. "The sonovabitch abandoned me!"


	13. Putting the Band Back Together

**Part 13 – Putting the Band Back Together  
(By Booster) **

The Doctor glared at Captain John Hart, who just shrugged. "What?" he said.

"If you even _think_ about saying you were only following orders, then I will leave you behind," the Doctor snapped in a cold, furious tone.

A hopeful look appeared in John's eyes. "That mean you won't?"

The Doctor continued glaring at him. "Dawn seems to like you and she's an adequate judge of character."

"I went off with you, didn't I?" muttered Dawn, grabbing Emort back from the Doctor's arms. Quickly hugging both Clark and the Doctor (a difficult task, using only the one arm that wasn't carrying Emort), she held Emort's tightly and began cooing to the confused and seasick looking vole.

The station rumbled and shook yet again. Captain John flashed a grin at them all again. "Much as I appreciate the potential of a get-away, given my so-called 'partner' has legged it with our only spaceworthy ship, any ideas on what we do now?"

"We head two floorth up, and hope the Judoon do a thufficent job for a change," rumbled Clark, his tail still swishing semi-angrily. "We athked their computer thythtem to bring the TARDITH on board."

"Your blue box thing?" asked John, cheering up. "That's pretty smart, thunthine."

"Oh god," the Doctor said absently, checking the settings on the sonic screwdriver, "I'd thought all the flirting would have stopped when Jack went."

John looked at the Doctor and winked. "You did see how long that tongue was, mate?"

Clark shoved John towards the exits slightly. "We can dithcuth this later, in a thafer place – and what did I thay about calling me thunthine?" he rumbled.

"Not calling you it in public?" John offered hopefully as the group started moving off.

Dawn suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as an idea finally hit her. "Hey, wait a moment! Those Judoon were always after you and Jack!"

"Yeah," John said cautiously, "That's right."

"So everything Jack was saying…. About the whole ring thing…..and the thing… The Judoon didn't want me?"

"No idea what you're talking about, luv."

"OOOOOO!" said Dawn furiously, and stamped her foot. "That's it! Some day, some time, Captain Jack Harkness and my boot are going to have a reckoning." She stomped off ahead of everyone else, fury radiating from every pore.

"Thhe thcareth me thometimeth."

"Easy for you to say."

"John!"

Two floors later, they were huddled around the edge of a door, watching the Judoon drag the TARDIS in from the airlock.

Dawn gently prodded the Doctor in one shoulder. "What?" he hissed.

"Just wanted to say thanks for getting Emort back. I'm kind of attached to him," she whispered shyly, not quite looking the Doctor in his eyes.

The Doctor smiled and hugged her. Leaning forward, he kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Don't forget, I can still feel you in the back of my head. I can tell just how you feel towards that little furry pest of ours."

He grimaced suddenly. "Although if I'd realised from all your frantic mental screams in the back of my head just how deep he'd gotten into the waste recycling system….."

Dawn elbowed him in the ribs, but both of them were grinning broadly. "Just… thanks, okay?"

Beside them, John rolled his eyes. "Now the touching family moment is over with," he hissed, "How do we get your blue box back from those eight Judoon over there?"

"Piece of cake," said the Doctor confidently. "Now, here's the plan…."


	14. Divide and Conquer

**Part 14 – Divide and Conquer  
(By Morag MacPherson) **

In order to understand the sequence of events that followed, it is vitally important to know a few things about Judoon culture. As a society, they lack imagination, and by and large they take up the same trade their mothers and fathers had: hired goons. (Yes, there are Judoon females hiding their udders somewhere underneath those pressurized space suits, although Judoon modesty is such that their courtship rituals remain a mystery to outsiders.) The old Academy had an entrance exam, but due to a grandfather clause in the school's charter, it had been nearly three centuries since anyone had actually bothered to take and pass the test. Particularly since no non-Judoon had ever applied.

As a result of this rampant nepotism, certain tactical weaknesses had been essentially inbred into their enforcement system. For example, while a Judoon trial takes only seconds to go from indictment to execution, Judoon will not execute someone who cannot understand their language. Furthermore, Judoon will almost never act alone, and in general, any group of Judoon upon encountering a situation which requires the group to divide, will divide evenly.

When Kroto had to report the situation back to his superiors, he stated that his unit had been charged with inspecting vessels and debris retrieved from the battlefield. They were just beginning to evaluate a large blue box whose retrieval request showed a less than stellar pedigree when a small spherical object rolled through the docking bay. Standing orders held that all unauthorized sentient beings were to be detained, so four of the eight-Judoon detail proceeded to march over and intercept it. A few moments later a door to Storage Room D opened without explanation; two Judoon left to see if more intruders were responsible. Now only Kroto and Sojo were left by the blue box. This is when they heard a snap from behind them, and the door to the blue box opened. It was vital to both investigate the contents of this box, which appeared to be violating several zoning codes by being larger on the inside. At the same time, the snap indicated that there was another unauthorized entity within the docking bay.

This was when Kroto and Sojo separated: Sojo went to investigate the snap, while Kroto peered inside the blue box.. Twenty minutes later, both of them awoke, sprawled on the floor of the docking bay. Both Kroto and Sojo smelled, ever so vaguely, of bananas and blackcurrants. The blue box had disappeared.

The group, now consisting of one Time Lord, one physical constant-turned-Time-Lady, a seven-foot lizard, an extinct Mbatanossite Prairie vole, and an abandoned Time Agent, indulged in a communal sigh as they listened to the TARDIS dematerialize. "Nice trick you've got there, Freckles," said John.

The Doctor gave him a cross look for the nickname before allowing, "Well, yes, it's not just any Time Lord that can open a TARDIS with a snap."

Dawn raised her hand, but Clark grabbed it before she could try. "Not in the middle of the time vortex," said Clark.

But the Doctor was still staring at her hand, looking aghast. "Dawn, where did you get that ring?"


	15. Origins and Endings

**Part 15 – Origins and Endings  
(By Booster) **

"Ah. This ring. Yes, well, funny story there, Doctor," said Dawn, hurriedly dropping her hand down. "I was halfway through buying it when the world fell out from under me. Then I kinda thought…. What with the Judoon and all…. And the whole thing…. It's all Jack's fault!"

The Doctor blinked. "All I meant was, where did you get that ring – it looks like a particularly rare type of precious stone, and not one I've seen very often." He looked over at Captain John, who'd doubled up with laughter by now, practically banging his fist on the TARDIS console, howling and wheezing. "Don't do that, John."

John raised a quivering finger and pointed at Dawn. "Jack convinced her all those Judoon were after her for shoplifting," he managed to get out before exploding with laughter once more. "All that shooting and charging around…. Bwahahahaha!"

Dawn flushed. "I changed my mind," she said mulishly, "I **don't** care why he looks like my Spike anymore. Can we kick him out now?"

"We're thhill in the Time Vortex, Dawn," remarked Clark, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't care," Dawn pouted and stuck out her tongue at the no-longer laughing Captain John.

"There will be no kicking out of people into the Time Vortex, children," the Doctor said firmly, moving to the TARDIS console and starting to set new co-ordinates. "And as for your friend's resemblance to John, there's a simple explanation."

"There is?" chorused Dawn and John together.

The Doctor paused and looked far away, deep in memory. "Assuming you're from the same starting time frame as Jack, and given everything I know about Jack…. Don't forget to wipe his memory of this by the way, John. Your precious timeline demands that much at the very least."

John nodded. "My word on it, Freck… Doctor."

"Anyway," the Doctor continued after regarding John for a moment, "It's a little known fact that the pleasure world of Karfaros 69 is descended straight from some of the oldest institutions from Old Earth herself. Specifically, gambling and some associated support systems."

"Wow," said Dawn, "That's got to be one crowded solar system with almost seventy celestial bodies floating around in it. How do they manage to navigate around?"

Clark grimaced. "There are four planeth in that thythtem total. Not that I've ever been there mythelf oth courthe."

"Then how come….oh. Shutting up now."

John and the Doctor both smirked and Dawn buried herself in looking after Emort, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else. "Anyway," the Doctor continued, "Some of the more unfortunate gamblers tended to sell what they had left, which a lot of the time could be blood plasma or tissue samples or other body fluids. These would get stored away if necessary and formed some entirely different business ventures at times."

A light was starting to grow in John's eyes. "So when the great wars started, and the mass emigrations began, they took the whole old stock, kit and caboodle and moved it offworld?"

"Precisely," beamed the Doctor. "So, it's quite possible that an old sperm sample from Dawn's time on earth could have survived and been instrumental in your conception. Unlikely, I grant you, but I've seen longer shots make it before."

"Sperm sample?" repeated Dawn blankly. Then her eyes widened in shock. "Ewwww! Ew ew ew! I so wish I'd never asked now!"

"Hmmm…" mused John, "Maybe I should spend a spot more time visiting the dark ages if I've got a direct ancestor back then."

"No! No no no!" babbled Dawn. "I don't even want to think about what you two would get up to together!" She stopped suddenly, and started to grin. "Although…. I guess that this means that Xander was right all along; Spike _is_ a wanker!"

Everyone cracked up at that one, and any remaining tensions quickly disappeared.

"Well now," the Doctor eventually said, "I assume John can find his way home from wherever and whenever we land now, so any requests from anyone else?"

"Letth jutht thee what happenth," said Clark after quickly glancing around at the others.

The Doctor grinned like a madman, fingers flying across the console at high speed. "Now, you're getting it! Into the depths of time and space we go!"

"To infinity and beyond!"

"Dawn!"

Never the end!


End file.
